5/9/2001 - Baseball
Navy Baseball Places Five Mids on All-Patriot League Team
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Five members of the Navy baseball team were selected to the All-Patriot League team by a vote of the league's coaches Wednesday. Starting pitcher Matt Foster (So./Ventura, Calif.), designated hitter Willie Gury (Sr./Boulder, Colo.) and third baseman Nick Sylvester (Sr./Greenwood, Ind.) were named first-team All-Patriot League, while outfielder John Cocca (Jr./Whitehall, Pa.) and relief pitcher Brad Deafenbaugh (Sr./Annapolis, Md.) earned second-team honors. All five players are first-time selections to the all-league team.
"Matt (Foster), Willie (Gury) and Nick (Sylvester) all had outstanding seasons for us," Navy head coach Steve Whitmyer said. "Nick has been a leader and played great for us this season at third base and at shortstop. Foster has been a go-to-guy on the mound for us and had a great year statistically in the league and overall. Willie has been very consistent all year and has come up with some big hits in clutch situations. It is great to see him having such a great senior year. Brad (Deafenbaugh) continues to be very clutch for us by coming through in some tight situations. John (Cocca) has had a great year in the outfield and is one of our top offensive players. I am very happy for these players and their hard work they have put in to earn these awards."
Foster leads the Navy pitching staff with a 5-1 record and has an earned-run average of 4.99 with 34 strikeouts. However, in Patriot League games, the sophomore is 3-0 with a 3.73 ERA and a team-high 29 strikeouts. In Foster's last five starts of the season, he struckout four batters or more in each game, while setting a career-high with eight in Navy's 5-1 win over Bucknell on April 15.
Sylvester is enjoying his finest season as a Midshipmen, batting .333 and leads the squad in doubles (12), total bases (62) and RBIs (25). In league games, Sylvester is hitting .371 with a team-high 70 at-bats, 26 hits, eight doubles, and 34 total bases. He went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and scored three runs in Navy's 21-4 win over Lehigh and leads the Mids' with 13 multiple-hit games this season.
Gury is hitting .311 with 38 hits, six doubles, two home runs, and 24 RBIs. Gury has drawn 13 walks, been hit by 11 pitches and struckout just seven times in 122 at-bats this season.
Cocca broke the Navy single-season record for stolen bases in the final weekend of the regular season. Cocca's 24 stolen bases this season, eclipses the old mark of 22 set in 1962 by Chuck Galloway. He is batting .296 and leads the Mids in runs scored with 33 and in triples with three.
Deafenbaugh made a team-high 15 appearances, 12 out of the bullpen, and earned three saves in 26.2 innings of work. Deafenbaugh picked up two victories this season and has won 12 games and earned five saves in his career.
Holy Cross second baseman Peter Summa, who batted .375 overall and .405 in league games, was named Patriot League Player of the Year, while Crusader head coach Paul Pearl was selected by his peers as Coach of the Year. Army right-hander Buck Adams was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, going 4-0 in the league with a 2.41 ERA.
The Mids will play host to the 2001 Patriot League Baseball Tournament which gets under way at Bishop Stadium Saturday at noon when Bucknell and Holy Cross battle in the elimination game. The winner will advance to face top-seeded Navy in a best-out-of-three series.
